Cell compartment for battery matrix

ABSTRACT

The invention disclosed herein is a battery cell compartment which is  use in limiting the number of batteries in any battery cell matrix. The battery cell compartment permits the use of relatively few batteries for practically any power need. The battery cell compartment essentially comprises a housing for a plurality of battery cells; a door panel; a series of concentric springs attached to the door panel and positioned such that when the door panel is secured to the housing the concentric springs are aligned with battery cell berths in the housing; circuit power pins electrically connected to the concentric springs; a diode, a thermal fuse and a current fuse placed in series with the circuit power pins.

GOVERNMENT INTEREST

The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed byor for the Government of the United States for governmental purposeswithout the payment to me of any royalties thereon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the technology of batteryapplications and storage, particularly to a battery cell compartmentcomprised of a plurality of premolded berths to replace the use of asingle larger battery cell, and more particularly to the construction ofa battery cell compartment to minimize the number of batteries needed inany battery matrix.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the proliferation of portable power devices, many different types,designs, and shapes of batteries have been manufactured for varyingapplications. All of these different batteries need to be tested,analyzed and constructed at great cost to the consumer. These costs areespecially incurred by those entities that require a great number ofpower sources. For example, the Department of Defense of the UnitedStates uses a myriad of different types of batteries for its portablepower sources. Specifically, the Department of the Army usesapproximately two hundred and two different types of batteries forvarying applications. As a consequence, the Department of Defenseexperiences logistical problems as well as incurs great cost insupplying so many different types of batteries to its field soldiers andunits. The logistic problems of the Army could be resolved by designinga battery cell compartment which uses only eight types of batteries butalso fulfills its power requirements for its multitude of deviceapplications.

The battery compartments which have been designed to date have only beendesigned to ensure the continued proper and safe operation of theportable power source. Generally, these battery compartments keep thebattery cells in electrical alignment with each other or provide a meansby which the battery cells are physically maintained under extremeconditions. These compartments, however, only provide a place of storagefor the batteries and do not facilitate the function or usefulness ofthe power source.

With the advent of Lithium Thionyl Chloride batteries, it is possible toprovide a consistent and relatively large amount of portable power at acomparatively light weight. Placing these batteries in series then mayfulfill virtually any portable power need. Therefore, it has becomefeasible to arrange Lithium Thionyl Chloride battery cells for portablepower requirements instead of designing a new type or shape of batterycell.

The present invention is a device by which lithium thionyl chloridebattery cells, as well as others, may be arranged to fulfill mostportable power requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One objective of this invention is to provide uniformity to the types ofbatteries used by an entity with a large battery matrix while notcompromising the power output of the battery structure.

Another objective of this invention is to increase the efficiency of useof any battery structure while maintaining the size and power output.

Another object is to make the disposal of batteries more cost effectiveupon expiration of the battery cells.

Another object is to reduce the number of battery cells needed for anybattery matrix.

Another object is to provide a secure compartment for battery storagewithin a portable power device.

These and other objects are achieved by the present invention whichcomprises a compartment for a plurality of individual battery cells, adoor panel, a means to attach the door panel to the housing, a series ofconcentric springs which are attached to the door panel and which arearranged in a series circuit, a set of circuit power pins which areattached to the door panel and which are connected in series with theconcentric springs, each set of circuit power pins being arranged inseries with a diode, and a current fuse, a thermal fuse to cease batteryoperation when the internal temperature of the device exceeds apredetermined temperature, and a means to connect the circuit power pinsto the application device. The individual battery cells are arranged inthe compartment such that the positive and negative terminals of thebattery cells contact the respective concentric springs when the doorpanel is secured.

This battery cell compartment may be altered at minimal cost toaccommodate any power requirement without the need to design acompletely new battery cell for a new or altered application. Therefore,only a few types of batteries would be needed to fulfill any portablepower need. This is accomplished by merely adding or subtracting thenumber of battery cells placed in the compartment in order toaccommodate the power requirement. The power output may also be alteredby the type of diode used in series with the circuit connector pin. Thediodes are used in these circuits to prevent a charging of lithiumthionyl chloride battery cells by an external power source. Diodes andthermal fuses, of course, would not be used in battery compartmentsdesigned for alkaline cell batteries.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, and details of the invention willbecome apparent in light of the ensuing detailed disclosure, andparticularly in light of the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cell matrix in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of the electrical circuit in accordancewith the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is an idealized view of a battery cell compartment in accordancewith the present invention. Within the compartment 10 are premoldedberths 15 which provide a secure housing for individual battery cells140. Each berth 15 is preferably molded such that only a particular sizeor shape of battery will fit into the berth 15. The individual batterycells 140 have both negative and positive terminals 101 and 102 locatedat one end of the battery cell. This is to ensure that the battery cells140 are connected correctly so as to prevent the structure from failingto work or to short out.

The battery cells are interconnected electrically by concentric springs110 and 120 which are attached to a door panel 100 and which contactonly the respective terminals 101 and 102 of the battery cells 140 whenthe door panel 100 is attached to the compartment 10. The concentricsprings 110 and 120 are positioned such that concentric spring 110 mayonly contact the negative terminal 101 and concentric spring 120 mayonly contact the positive terminal 102.

The concentric springs are placed in series with circuit power pins 130also attached to the door panel The circuit power pins 130 are fittedinto a connector 150 by placing the circuit power pins 130 intoapertures 160. The application to be powered by the battery structure isconnected to the structure by means of connector 150. A thermal fuse maybe incorporated into the structure as lithium thionyl batteries may ventif they attain an internal temperature exceeding 91 degrees Celsius.

The present invention may be constructed so as to accommodate any numberof batteries and therefore, the only limitation of the present inventionis the size and number of batteries needed for any given application.Excluding this limitation, then, it is estimated that only eight typesof batteries would be needed to fulfill any portable power need. Thus,the cost of battery development and procurement will be greatly reduced.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the electrical circuitry of thepresent invention. The individual battery cells are placed in series viathe concentric springs 110 and 120 which are, in turn, placed in serieswith a plurality of diodes 300 and a current fuse 320. The plurality ofdiodes 300 is necessary to prevent charging of lithium battery cells aswell as to act as power inhibitors when a specific power requirement isneeded. The current fuse 320 is needed to prevent a current surge fromthe battery which would otherwise destroy the application device.

Although the preceding description of the present invention illustratesonly one embodiment of the invention, other configurations and circuitswhich embody the present invention are possible. It is thereforeconsidered that the foregoing disclosure relates to a generalillustration of the invention and should not be construed in a limitingsense, it being the intent to define the invention by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery cell compartment comprising:a housing;a plurality of berths disposed within said housing, each berth having atleast one opening; a door panel; means to attach said door panel to saidhousing; a plurality of electrically connected concentric springsattached to said door panel in a manner such that the concentric springsare aligned with the openings of said berths when said door panel isattached to said housing; a plurality of circuit power pins attached tosaid door panel and electrically connected in series to said concentricsprings; a plurality of diodes electrically connected to said circuitpower pins; a current fuse electrically connected said diodes; and meansfor connecting an application device circuit to said battery cellcompartment.
 2. The battery cell compartment of claim 1 wherein saidberths may only accommodate one shape of battery cell.
 3. The batterycell compartment of claim 1 wherein said housing is one molded unit. 4.The battery cell compartment of claim 1 wherein said battery cellcompartment is constructed of a material consisting of polycarbonates.